I’ve been planning these beautiful cakes for a week now, adding new ideas day by day. It seems that lately I find the night to be the moment when I’m most inspired and I often get out of bed just to write down an idea so I won’t forget in the morning. That is what happened with the muesli base and the coconut tuile. If you’d see the papers I’m taking notes on, it would scare you. They’re full of adnotations, changes, drawings, scribbling, but for some reason I find them to be beautiful and they make so much sense to me. I often keep the original papers too, even though I re-write the recipe on a special notebook I made for my favorite recipes or on my blog. It’s just feels wrong to throw them away, they are part of the process through I create cakes and keeping them means that I can always can go back and make additional changes if I want to.

These exquisite white chocolate passion cakes are refreshing and somehow in contrast with the Christmas cookies and gingerbread I’ve been baking lately. But that’s the weird thing about my tastebuds – after a bunch of rich, intense flavors I feel the need of having something refreshing, exquisite, creamy, airy and that’s when I know it’s time for one of my cakes. Just imagine the crunchy, fragrant crust, the airy, tangy mousse and tha fragrant white chocolate and passion fruit ganache, all topped with the most delicious compote I ever had, dripping off the edges of the cake, infusing both the mousse and the crust. The white chocolate decoration is something I’ve always dreamt of making and I finally found the time and determination to do so. And the coconut tuile is there not only for design, but also for a delicate crunch and extra coconut flavor.

These cakes consist of the following layers: (bottom to top)

Muesli crust

White chocolate yogurt mousse

Passion fruit ganache

Passion fruit orange compote

White chocolate decorations

Coconut tuile

I created the crust from scratch using regular vanilla biscuits, oats, raisins, coconut and hazelnuts, but you can also use graham crackers or your favorite biscuits. The white chocolate mousse truly surprised me and I’ll be making it again for sure – it’s incredibly airy, slightly tangy and so so creamy and exquisite. You can feel the yogurt slightly, but it’s the white chocolate that stands out. The mousse and the following layer – white chocolate passion fruit ganache – are a match made in heaven. The passion fruit taste is delicate and it gives the ganache a certain flavor that you will adore, but struggle to identify. The compote, which is not compulsory, but definitely recommended, boosts slightly the passion fruit aroma, but it’s not overpowering the cake at all – instead, it blends into the flavors of the cake and it lingers on the palate, adding a tangy, fragrant kick to each and every bite of cake.

The quantities below are enough for 6-8 small cakes or a 18cm diameter cake.

Place your mini-cake round molds on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I bought my molds from Lidl, they come in round, heart and square shapes and are made of steel so great quality for the money and incredibly versatile and sturdy.

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of crust mixture into each mold and press it well. Use a pestle for this task as they need to be well pressed.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180C for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let the crusts cool completely.

Carefully remove the crusts from the molds and line the molds with acetate foil or even baking paper. Place the crusts back into the molds and place aside.

White chocolate yogurt mousse:

Bloom the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Melt it for a few seconds in the microwave or on a hot water bath just before use.

Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Place in the fridge until needed.

Mix the melted chocolate with the yogurt until smooth then stir in the melted gelatin.

Fold in the whipped cream then pour the mousse into the prepared molds, over the baked and chilled crusts.

Refrigerate until you finish making the ganache.

White chocolate passion fruit ganache:

Combine the heavy cream and passion fruit juice in a saucepan and bring them to the boiling point over low heat.

Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate.

Let the ganache rest for 5 minutes then mix well with a whisk until smooth.

Stir in butter then allow the ganache to come to room temperature.

Pour a thin layer of ganache over the cakes and refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

Orange passion fruit compote:

Pass the passion fruit pulp through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Place the seeds aside.

Mix the passion fruit juice with the orange juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat until it's slightly reduced.

Add the orange segments and cook just 2 more minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 teapsoon of seeds for design. You can skip this step if you don't like the look of passion fruit seeds.

Let the compote cool completely before serving.

Coconut tuile:

Combine the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a bowl and mix well.

Stir in the coconut and freeze the mixture for 30 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper then form small balls of the coconut mixture.

Place the balls on your prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven at 190C for 5-10 minutes or until the tuiles are spread in the pan and look slightly golden brown.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.

They will be incredibly soft hot, you might think something went wrong, but let them cool down and you'll see how they turn into a crisp, delicious tuile.

Keep in mind that the given quantities yield more tuiles than you actually need so feel free to reduce the quantities.

White chocolate decorations:

Melt ⅔ of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a hot water bath.

In the meantime, chop the remaining chocolate very finely.

Remove the melted chocolate from the water bath and stir in the remaining chopped chocolate, mixing well until smooth. This is a very basic type of tempering chocolate and although it doesn't compare to proper tempering in terms of shine and snap, it's still better than no tempering at all.

Spread a fine layer of chocolate on an acetate sheet and refrigerate it 30 seconds at a time until it begins to set. Cut into a triangle shape and wrap around one of those steel cake molds I mentioned earlier.

Refrigerate until properly set.

Candied orange:

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the orange slices and cook them 10 minutes on low heat.

Remove from heat and let the slices cool in syrup then drain them well and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Cook in the preheated oven at 180C for 10 minutes or until the sugar begins to slightly caramelize. You'll need to keep a close eye on them as they burn easily.

Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely in order to set.

Assembling the cakes:

To assemble the cakes, decorate with white chocolate, top with pieces of coconut tuile and a spoonful of orange passion fruit compote. Place a candied orange slice on one side for decor and serve the cakes chilled.

That is one stunning plated dessert cant wait to try and make it. Your so talented thanks for sharing. Can you let me know what can be done ahead of time? Would love to make this in class for my plated dessert practical and our Chef giving us a 2 day window to prepare and present. Thank you once again.

Hello, Maritza. You can make the base and the compote ahead, but the rest should be done when you assemble the dessert, especially the tuile which is very fragile and humidity sensitive. Good luck with your exam, let me know how it goes.